17 Things I Learned in 2017

It is New Years Eve! What are you doing tonight? Are you getting dressed up to the 9’s? Are your sequin dresses at the ready? Maybe you are staying in ordering a takeaway? Or perhaps you have gone away for New Year? Whatever you are doing, I wish you all a happy New Year in advance!

My last post of 2017 is a reflective piece, where I am looking back on 17 things I have learned this year…

1. Just because you have a degree doesn’t mean that getting a job is easy.

2. You don’t have to know right away what you want to do for the rest of your life. If you do it sure does help, but take the pressure off and just start somewhere!

3. Persistence however does pays off, whether that is trying to get a job or in exercise (see below!)

4. I discovered Pilates. Running is great but I have a love/hate relationship with it. Pilates is my happy go to exercise. I realised that the habits I create now is fundamental to my well-being as I get older. Exercise should be viewed as a treat for your body, not a chore (even if it does feel like that). This is something I am going to dedicate more time to in 2018.

5. I LOVE GREYS ANATOMY.*

6. Stop caring so much about what other people think! I was lucky enough to be gifted Sarah Knight’s book “The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k”. I have a feeling I will be referring to this book a lot! Give it a read if you are guilty of feeling guilty for simple daily decisions! **

7. From the above- I missed reading. This is only a treat I give myself on holiday. Probably due to acts of binging on point 5.*

8. I love writing! I am creative. I need a creative outlet. I started this blog in February 2017 but only dedicated more time to it and shared it with others in September 2017. Why? Probably because of point 6? **

9. Friendships can transcend countries and continents. I have had some of my closest friends move abroad the latter part of this year, and guess what? When I speak or see them, not a thing has changed. Yes I do miss them, but true friendship exists and they are there despite time zones.

10. I have built up my confidence again. As human beings no matter what age, we will have peaks and troughs in terms of self-belief. This is something I haven’t yet touched upon on my blog and is a topic you will see in 2018, when points 6,8 and 10 come into full force and I continue to write blog posts of a personal and exposed tone.

11. Dying your hair dark will come with consequences when you decide to go back blonde!

12. I like to travel. This one sounds kind of dumb, but bear with me! I never had the travel bug, I wasn’t tempted to do a year abroad at uni or explore the world with a gap year afterwards. However this is something I want to do more of in 2018, so stay tuned!

13. Photography is a new hobby I have picked up this year and is a skill that I want to practice in 2018.

14. You will recover from embarrassing moments at work, whether that it is getting locked up in the filing cabinet room or sending an email out to the whole head office with your annual leave plans… Good one, Natalia! *face palms*

15. You don’t know all the answers and that’s OK. This can be very frustrating but you need to let life happen.

16. I am getting older! EEK. Alright some of you may not think that 23 is old, and in reality it isn’t. However it is dawning on me that I have technically been an ‘adult’ for 5 years, a scary thought! Nonetheless I don’t need to necessarily worry about the big adult things such as saving for a mortgage right away. Find the balance between saving and still have a good time! As cliché as it sounds, your 20’s are all about discovering yourself.

17. Time is flying by! Make the most of every day and I need to remember for 2018 that “Motivation gets you going and habit gets you there!”

Before you know it I will be writing the 18 things I learned in 2018, but for now